Queen hazel

Chapter 10

After chatting for a bit with Rocky and Sadie, I noticed a growl in my stomach. Having skipped lunch, I was ready to eat a buffalo!

"Hey... where do we get dinner?" I asked.

Rocky grinned. "Aah, dinner. The best part of the day. Follow me!"

He led us through winding passages and tight corridors. At last, we were led back into light. It felt good to feel the sun on my back, and hear the familiar sounds of the city. We crept out from behind the building and into some trees.

Rocky announced with a sparkle of mischief in his eyes, "Dinner is here!"

What?! It couldn't be! There was literally NOTHING to eat. No bacon, ham or kibbles! Rocky yipped in delight as a fat pigeon crossed our path. He immediately pounced, and killed it with a swift bite on the neck. A terrible thought crossed my mind. We were supposed to HUNT FOR OUR OWN FOOD?! As if he could read my mind, Rocky gave an excited bounce and barked,

"That's right! Hunt food or no food. Well, unless you eat the food supplies, but those are for emergencies."

Rose's jaw dropped: she clearly didn't see this coming.

"B-but... I-I dunno h-how to h-hunt!!" She spluttered.

"Welp, that's your own problem!" Rocky sniffed. "Watch and learn, poochies!"

He was quoting Danger, trying to sound tough, but it came out more like an excited squeak.

Rocky pelted through the streets, Rose and I panting as we followed. Suddenly, Rocky and Rose came to a sudden halt. I stopped just in time to avoid crashing into Rose, who was sniffing the air like mad.

Rocky signaled with his tail, and murmured to Rose, "Come around the other side, and drive it towards me."

Rose nodded eagerly, while I stared blankly at them. I opened my mouth to ask what was going on, but the two of them had already disappeared. I was about to look for them, when I heard pawsteps thundering my way. Rose was herding a fat rabbit towards me! I started panicking, unsure how to react. Before the rabbit came too close, Rocky leaped out of nowhere and sprang atop the rabbit, killing it with a rapid bite.

"Awooo!" Rose squealed. "My first successful hunt!"

I congratulated her, but couldn't help but feel a bit envious of her.

"Wow! Danger would be so proud! Let's bring this back to her. And on your first try too, Rose! Great job!"

Rocky padded away to fetch his pigeon from earlier, while Rose walked towards me.

"Hey, you all right?"

I nodded sourly, and Rose stared at me for a moment, then nodded back.Then, we started heading back towards The Savage's hideaway. We slid the grate open. I totally forgot about the steep stairs, and tumbled down like a sack of potatoes.

The entrance was a pinpoint of light. Rocky's snout appeared from above, and shouted, "You all right?"

"Fine!"I howled back.

A loud whoop startled me. Rocky was rolling down, and landed gracefully next to me.

"SOOO FUN!!" Rocky barked.

Rose trotted down. "I will never understand what's going on in your little brains."

Rocky and I exchanged amused looks. Rose huffed and replied, "Whatever. Let's go."

Days passed by. We went hunting everyday, sometimes more than once. Usually we got plenty of food, except on the second day, the first time I went hunting.

I was standing behind a tree, nervously anticipating Sadie's signal.

"1...2...3...NOW!"

A rabbit charged towards me. I remembered Rose's skill, and hesitated. I couldn't do that, could I? I was a city dog! An owner's dog! The rabbit rushed past me.

Sadie emerged from a shrub.

"I told you to pounce! This is the fifth time we've tried! Come on! Rose-"

She stopped when she saw my face.

"Rose-what?"I snarled.

"S-sorry! I didn't mean to say that! Hazel, please. Let's try again."

Grudgingly, I went back behind the tree, waiting for Sadie again.

This time, I also remembered Rose's skill. But not how good she was. I was going to beat that show-off!

In an instance, I leapt on the rabbit and bit it! I did it! I COULD HUNT!!

But the ecstacy quickly faded away. I looked down on the bleeding rabbit and realized what I had done. And the way I thought about Rose, my best friend...

I handed it to Sadie, whose smile turned to concern. "What's wrong?"

"I-I don't think I'm ready yet. To hunt. It might taste delicious, but the process... I know it's part of the food chain, but just..."

Sadie nodded. "You know, that happened to me too when I started to hunt. But you'll get over it. I promise."

I thought about those words as Rose chatted with Rocky about hunting techniques, but I no longer wanted to be part of their conversation. It was almost a week that we had stayed with the Savages, and I was slowly getting used to their way of living. But, I was still questioning Sadie's promise. Would I become a true hunter someday? Suddenly, Danger stepped in front of us with a serious look on her face. Guess my doubts would have to wait.

She led us into our room and sighed. "I have to tell you something." I put my paw on her gently.

"You can tell us anything. You're our leader now."

She broke away from my grasp. "NO! I can't be your leader!"

We looked at her in surprise. "What? Why not?"

Danger didn't meet our eyes. When she did, I could see they were filled with pain.

"You know the real reason I took you in, Hazel and Rose?" She winced, but kept on talking. "It was because of my brother. We were found and put in the adoption center at an early age. I protected him, and he made me laugh. A fair exchange. Then we got adopted by Mr Bilnos. At first we thought this was paradise, but then... you know. Katilyn got bored of me, and threw me out. I tried to return to get my brother, but when I finally made it, he was gone." She paused.

"So when you realised we were at Mr Bilnos's, you brought us in, hoping we would know his whereabouts,"l continued for Danger.

"Yes. He goes by the name Shadow, and can slip into darkness, unseen..."

Rose and I exchanged a regretful glance. At last, I stuttered, "I'm so sorry, Danger, we didn't see a greyhound like that."

Danger sighed. "I half-expected you to say that. With that out of the way, I'll tell you why l really gathered you here for. I think you need to go."

Rose and l bowed our heads. We understood we couldn't stay here forever, but we were still sad to go.

"You're not the kind of dogs that like to be stuck in one place, trapped within a group. I can sense your free spirits. You need to go on an adventure, to explore! And the others... They haven't really accepted you yet. Remember yesterday's incident?"

I shivered. Yesterday morning, Rocky, Sadie, Rose and I had woken up covered in spiders and other bugs. It took hours to get them all out. In fact, l think there are still a few stragglers hanging around...

"Please. It will be for your own good."

Rocky and Sadie stepped in front of us.

"If they're leaving, we're leaving too."

Danger looked at us miserably. "Very well. I'll... miss you." The words seemed hard for her to pronounce. "Spend one last night here. We'll say goodbye in the morning." She padded away sadly.